We are a congregation of around 90 members with many more regular worshippers including a large number of children and young people.
Being part of the Baptist Union of Great Britain links us to around 1500 other churches in the UK, and to 40 million people worldwide. And being members of the Evangelical Alliance identifies us as mainstream Christians with a traditional faith who believe the Bible is both reliable and relevant.
To find out more about the Baptist Union, click here to view their website.

What we believe

We believe God the Father made the world and provides for us. We believe his Son Jesus Christ came to earth to teach us God’s ways and show us God’s love. Jesus died so we can be forgiven and be put right with God; he rose from the dead so we can have new life and be certain of heaven. And we believe in the Holy Spirit who makes us part of God’s family and helps us share Jesus with those we meet.

We also believe that life is a journey, one we can make either towards God or away from him. Wherever you are on your journey of faith, or even if it hasn’t begun yet, we would love to share your journey with you. From time to time we run a course called "Christianity Explored" to help you explore the Christian faith in the simplest way possible in a relaxed environment.

How we worship

Our main service is on a Sunday morning at 10 oclock and lasts
around an hour and a quarter. Over 100 attend. Children and young people leave
the service after the first quarter of an hour and go to their own activities. A
crèche is available for pre-school children.

We have a smaller and quieter one-hour evening service at 6 o'clock

Our worship style blends old and new. Bible-based teaching is an important part of what we do.

Holy Communion is celebrated on the first Sunday evening of the month and the third (and fifth) Sunday mornings.

Being a Baptist

Baptists and Baptist churches are found in almost every country in the world. As part of the
world-wide Christian church, Baptists form one of the largest families of faith.
Baptists have been around for over 350 years, Olney Baptist Church being one of
the oldest.

For Baptists the concept of a family is important. The church is not place or a building but a
family of believers, committed to Christ, to one another and to the service of
God in the world.

In this family everyone is equal and all have a part to play. There is no hierarchy of bishops
or priests. Equality of status, however, does not mean that all have the same
role. Each local Baptist church appoints its own minister to have responsibility
for preaching, teaching and pastoral care. Working alongside the minister are
deacons and elders, who together form the leadership team of the local church.
But each local church is governed by its members through the Church Meeting,
held several times a year. The local church is self-governing and
self-supporting.

Believer's baptism, usually by full immersion, is the natural expression of our faith in Christ and
our commitment to the local church. Unlike infant baptism, practised in other
churches, Believer's Baptism is for those with a personal faith in Christ and
who are old enough to know what they are doing.

Baptists have a strong commitment to sharing their faith with others and to working for justice in a
needy world.

Baptist churches in Britain have no set creed, but adhere to the following principles:

Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, God manifest in the flesh, is the sole and absolute
authority in matters pertaining to faith and practice, as revealed in the Holy
Scriptures; and that each church has liberty, under the guidance of the Holy
Spirit, to interpret and administer Christ's laws.

Christian baptism is the immersion in water into the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy
Spirit, of those who have professed repentance towards God and faith in our Lord
Jesus Christ who 'died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and rose again
the third day'.

It is the duty of every disciple to bear personal witness to the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and to
take part in the evangelisation of the world.